KARACHI, June 7: The Sindh High Court, City Courts and Malir District Courts wore a deserted look on Thursday as the legal fraternity stayed away from court proceedings. Judges were present in their chambers, but the protesting lawyers did not appear there. All the shops and canteens on the court premises also remained closed and under-trial prisoners were also not brought to the courts.

Members of the Karachi Bar Association (KBA) took out a procession and observed a sit-in on M.A. Jinnah Road. They shouted slogans against the army generals, President Pervez Musharraf, the federal ministers for information, law, railways and the Sindh chief minister. They also raised slogans for the reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, for the freedom of the press and implementation of the constitution.

Later, a general body meeting of the KBA was held in the Shuhda-i-Punjab Hall. It was addressed by Sindh Bar Council member Sati M. Ishaq, KBA President Iftikhar Javaid Qazi, General Secretary Naeem Qureshi, Hassan Mehmood Jafery, Mushaffay Ahmed, Tariq Khan Niazi, Mehmood-ul Hassan and Mushtaq Jehangiri.

President of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) Lawyers Forum Arshad Khan Jadoon in a statement criticised the government for imposing restrictions on the media and said the government claims about the freedom of the press were baseless.

Speakers criticised President Pervez Musharraf for promulgating the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory (Pemra) Ordinance and alleged that it was aimed at suppressing ongoing campaign for the independence of the judiciary.

The speakers said problems of the people were increasing and the government was unable to solve them as the maximum of the country’s resources were spent on the army, adding that the residents of most katchi abadis had no facility of education, healthcare and drinking water. They said the prices of daily use items were also rising with each passing day and the rulers were the least bothered about controlling them.

They said the restrictions on the media were an old tactic of dictators and that the lawyers and journalists would jointly struggle for the independence of the judiciary and the press. They said the curbs were a sheer violation of Article 19 of the constitution, which guaranteed the freedom of expression.

Most of the speakers stressed that the army’s role in politics should come to an end and asked for holding free, fair and impartial elections.

They said the general had weakened the institutions and the Pemra Ordinance was a glaring example of the government’s undemocratic and unconstitutional decisions.

Several KBA members and two members of the Malir Bar Association observed a token hunger strike in the bar room.